Countywide : International Adoptions Will Be Seminar Topic

Adoptive mother Elyse Garrett vividly recalls her first glimpse of 8-month-old Nataly, who had been born prematurely, abandoned by her birth mother and sent to an orphanage in Belarus.

“I just couldn’t believe it when I first saw her,” the Santa Margarita resident said. “She was so tiny and pale. Her little face was all swollen and puffy. But I knew she was mine.”

That experience in 1992 prompted Garrett and another licensed social worker, Barbara Marshall, to found Star Coalition for Children, a nonprofit organization that facilitates international adoptions and humanitarian aid.

They will discuss their organization and show a video about Garrett’s trip to Belarus at a free seminar from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills.

Garrett now has two adopted children from Eastern Europe. Her second daughter, Siena, was born the same day in the same hospital as Nataly. Because of red tape, Garrett had to go back eight months later for Siena, who was also abandoned.

The adoptions marked the end of a painful odyssey for Garrett, who is 43 and single. After being unable to arrange an adoption through the county, Garrett contacted a private agency in 1990. She was ready to take home twin girls, but four days after their birth, the biological mother decided to keep her children.

Garrett turned to Eastern Europe after she heard she could adopt children from the former Soviet Union.

For seminar reservations, call (714) 858-3866.